Pro-gun activists pack heat at the state Capitol

Jim Howley (left) and his son Josh Howley (right) at 2nd Amendment rally at the Michigan capitol today.

Credit Jake Neher / MPRN

More than 200 gun owners descended on the state Capitol in Lansing Tuesday – many of them openly carrying firearms. Several pro-gun groups from across the country participated in the annual Second Amendment Day demonstration.

They say the rally is an important way to remind state policymakers to protect residents’ gun rights.

“It lets them know we’re not going to back off,” said Jim Howley of Stevensville. “We’re not going to change our mind, we’re still pushing for the Second Amendment, and pushing for the Constitution in general.”

During the rally, state Representative and congressional candidate Tom McMillan, R-Rochester Hills, announced new pro-gun legislation that would require local governments to take laws off the books that restrict where people can openly carry firearms.